The embodiments described herein relate generally to a clamp. More particularly, some embodiments described herein relate to an optical fiber ribbon strain relief clamp.
The use of optical fibers in electronic, communication, and network applications in recent years has become ever more prevalent due to its higher bandwidth, immunity to electromagnetic interference, and low loss characteristics over long distances. In use, the optical fiber typically connects at each end to transceivers that send and receive an optical signal as well as convert the optical signal to an electrical signal.
Optical fibers can be configured into a ribbon formation combining many individual optical fibers, often in multiples of 12 (e.g. 1×12 fiber configuration, up to 6×12), into a single bundled ribbon. Optical fiber ribbon when used in multi-channel optical interconnects is typically somewhat flexible but also delicate. If the ribbon is bent or twisted beyond its limits, the optical performance can be compromised and, in a worst-case scenario, one or more of the fibers in the ribbon can break resulting in a catastrophic failure. In certain systems, multiple optical transceivers, such as VCSELs (vertical-cavity surface emitting lasers), are often arrayed on a circuit board in patterns constrained by interconnect and signal integrity rules that result in tortuous paths for the optical fiber ribbons to negotiate. The optical ribbon should be guided to their terminus without kinks or tight bends to avoid any of the failures mentioned above. Therefore, strain relief and managing the routing of the optical ribbon is desirable but due to the tight spaces found on many circuit boards this can be a challenge.
Thus, a need exists for an improved system for clamping and relieving strain in a fiber ribbon.